The Official Ladder: I ascend to the pinnacle of power, wielding the power of life and death.

The little girl's eyes lit up when she heard about instant noodles.

Instant noodles, which are ordinary in the eyes of city dwellers, are a luxury in the eyes of rural people, let alone little girls.

The last time she ate it was when her father was alive. Every time he came back from the army, he would bring her a few bags, and she would eat them in small bites as if they were treasures.

Not long after, the gatekeeper brought out another large bowl of instant noodles with five eggs in it.

"These are all for you. Eat slowly, don't choke."

Jiang Yiming scooped up some noodles and pushed the instant noodles and eggs in front of the grandfather and grandson.

"Big brother, eat first."

The little girl swallowed hard, but still pushed the noodles and eggs in front of Jiang Yiming.

"I've already eaten dinner, but I'm hungry now. I'll just eat a few bites to fill my stomach. Don't worry about me, just eat."

As Jiang Yiming spoke, he deliberately let out a burp, and then used chopsticks and a spoon to put noodles and eggs into the bowls of the grandfather and grandson.

The two of them felt awkward about backing away, so they started eating heartily.

In just a moment, the two large bowls of noodles were completely devoured, leaving not a drop of soup.

"Big brother, thank you. This is the best meal I've had in two years."

The little girl's eyes sparkled, and the corners of her mouth turned up, a sight that touched everyone.

"Little sister, big brother promises you that from now on you will have enough to eat every day, at least three times a week, okay?"

Jiang Yiming didn't set his goals too high. The current standard of living in the county is just like this. Being able to eat your fill is a basic standard. If you can eat a few good meals a week, then you are a very good family.

After all, grain production was not high at that time, and every year they had to hand over public grain and grain purchased by the state.

These account for roughly one-fifth to one-third of the grain harvest of ordinary people. In some places, the proportion of grain collected from the public and state-purchased grain is even higher, approaching 50%.

Ordinary people could barely fill their stomachs; it was extremely rare for them to have an egg or buy some meat.

This is why everyone looks forward to the Spring Festival. After all, even poor families will grit their teeth and prepare some food and drinks during those few days.

In an era of material scarcity, the festive atmosphere of the New Year was very strong, and the Spring Festival was the holiday that everyone missed and looked forward to the most.

After getting closer to the little girl and her grandfather, Jiang Yiming learned more about Hu Decheng, the village head of Yunhu Village, from them.

Hu Decheng not only took advantage of the situation to amass wealth, but also seized other people's property and beat others to the point of disability.

It also harmed the women in the village.

After leaving the room, Jiang Yiming was unable to calm down for a long time, and eventually called Liu Xinbin.

"Director Xinbin, are you resting?"

"Not yet, I'm at home watching TV with my wife and kids. What instructions does the secretary have?"

"I was going to invite you to come with me for a walk, but you're at home with your wife and kids, so forget it."

“Secretary, what are you saying? We cadres are supposed to put the greater good before our own families. My wife supports and understands me. Please wait for me for fifteen minutes, and I’ll be right there to meet you.”

Jiang Yiming found a flashlight and car keys and waited for Liu Xinbin at the gate.

"Secretary, where would you like to go for a walk?"

"Let's go to Yunhu Village."

Jiang Yiming asked, "Are you familiar with the roads in Yunhu Village?"

"Yunhu Village?"

Liu Xinbin was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Why did the Party Secretary decide to go to Yunhu Village?"

"To be honest, I have received complaints from villagers many times that Hu Decheng, the village head of Yunhu Village, is abusing the villagers. They also said that Hu Decheng's residence is large and impressive, even more beautiful than our park's office building."

Jiang Yiming said, "That's why I want to go and take a look."

“Secretary, I want to apologize to you about Hu Decheng’s matter. Actually, I received the letter of accusation against him a long time ago. When I was preparing to submit the case to the County Discipline Inspection Commission, both Secretary Du and Secretary Wang Fugui opposed it. They said it would expose their own shortcomings and make their own ugly faces public.”

Liu Xinbin sighed and said, "I had no choice but to put the matter aside. Of course, I don't mean to push all the blame onto them. I also bear a lot of responsibility for this. If I had been more determined, perhaps Hu Decheng, this black sheep, would have been eliminated long ago."

"Xinbin, you're exaggerating. The matter hasn't been investigated thoroughly yet, so it's too early to say such things."

Jiang Yiming said, "Let's go take a look first, and then make other plans."

"Okay, I'll go with you to take a look."

Liu Xinbin looked at the car and said, "The roads in the village are difficult to drive on. Your car is prone to scraping the undercarriage. You should drive my Jeep instead."

Jiang Yiming nodded and followed Liu Xinbin into the passenger seat.

There is a main road from the park management committee to Yunhu Village, which is paved with pebbles. Although it was drizzling, it was not a difficult task for the jeep.

With the headlights on, the car headed towards the Yunhu Village Committee.

Upon arriving at the village committee, under the illumination of the car headlights, the red-tiled and blue-brick village committee building looked quite impressive.

"Hu Decheng's house is at the end of that road ahead. It's paved with gravel, so you can drive right there. I'll give you a ride."

"No need, let's walk there later and check out the primary school first."

"Oh well."

The primary school is behind the village committee, just a two-minute walk away.

The school was made of adobe houses with thatched roofs, and a red flag hung on the flagpole in the middle of the school, fluttering in the wind.

Jiang Yiming stood there, looked around the entire school, and stood there for a while before following Liu Xinbin toward the home of village head Hu Decheng.

Along both sides of the road were mud-brick houses. Some of the houses were dark, obviously the residents were already asleep, while in other houses, the candlelight shone through the wooden windows onto the ground outside, where moths and insects occasionally scurried around.

The village dogs would bark occasionally.

When Jiang Yiming arrived at the village chief's house, he was shocked by the three-story building in front of him.

Even if we don't think it's 2000 now, even more than 20 years from now, this kind of three-story European-style villa will still be considered quite luxurious.

Jiang Yiming thought of the low-rise village primary school he had just seen, and then looked at the three-story villa here, and felt very uncomfortable.

"Does Hu Decheng's family have any businesses?"

"No, they all farm in the village. With their income, it's impossible for them to afford a house like this."

Liu Xinbin said, "When the Party Working Committee convenes tomorrow, you propose, and I second, that we thoroughly investigate Hu Decheng."

Jiang Yiming nodded, intending to go back and think of a solution.

For him, dismissing or even arresting a village chief was not a big deal.

But he had to consider the series of chain reactions that would result from arresting Hu Decheng.

Will Du Weizhong, or other Party Working Committee members, or even county leaders, intervene?

If someone intervenes, he needs to figure out how to handle the situation. Otherwise, if he doesn't have a plan when others retaliate, he could easily be defeated.

Just as the two were about to leave, a heart-wrenching cry came from not far away.

"Stop hitting me, please, stop hitting me, I was wrong, I was really wrong."